


An Unforgiving Sleep

by Barefootandbookish



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Rumbelle - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:57:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5507357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barefootandbookish/pseuds/Barefootandbookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumplestiltskin slips deep into a coma as the Dark One curse is pulled away from him. He struggles to find a reason to live until he hears Belle voice. Then he wakes to find Belle is not the one by his side. This was my secret santa gift for mysticknightsofscotland.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unforgiving Sleep

A sheet of night wrapped around him, closing around his throat, squeezing the life from his ragged body. His head spun, his stomach rose to his chest. Silence crushed down on him. Then nothing. Numb. Everything was numb. 

For a moment, far too long for comfort, he found himself at the doorstep of hell. There were invisible flames licking at his soul. The dreadful feeling of being back in his worst nightmare was stalking him. He wasn’t there yet, but it was close. He was dying. 

Having had enough of this the first time, Rumplestiltskin used every bit of his energy reserves to take one more large inhale of breath. A moment later he was back inside the shop, his eyes opening one last time before the coma took him under.

He drifted in and out of the world. Static roared in his mind. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t find the answer. There was too much static. He couldn’t quiet it.

Walls closed in on him. Pushing harder and harder against his chest. His hands were locked in place, he couldn’t push back. Every inch of skin burned and itched. His eyes were stuck shut. His mouth too dry, his tongue swollen, he tried to shout for help, but his words sank back into his heart and settled there. Perhaps death would have been easier.

Then, as it seemed the static couldn’t get any louder or heavier, it was gone. The walls disappeared and he was left floating in a silent river, memories drifting past that he couldn’t catch. Longing to understand, he reached for the memories, but they slipped through his fingers.

Finally, his hand caught onto one single memory. His blackened heart, heavy in his palm. It pulsed slowly, barely living.

The next memory came with a quick jolt of pain. It was worse than any other he’d felt before. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice pulled the Dark One Curse from his bones. Its claws dug deep down into his heart, scraping at the last bit of good left in him. It had been vengeful until the very last moment.

In his mind he pieced together the memories, realizing where he was. Trapped in his own mind at the edge of death. What if he just let go? You deserve it after all you’ve done.

Somewhere in the dark distance a light flickered. An image flashed in front of him. Brown hair, green eyes, a smile warmer than a mid-July afternoon. Belle! It was gone before he could focus on her face. But she had been there, a speck of hope in the darkness of his coma.

Survival instincts took over. His lungs pushed through the exhaustion, filling his chest with air, anchoring him to Storybrooke for one moment longer. He focused on the way his lungs expanded with each breath, the way they fell as he breathed out.

The light flashed again, this time brighter than before. His heartbeat quickened. Stay focused. He saw her again, clearer this time. Willing himself awake, he took another deep breath. 

The third time he saw the light it didn’t dim. It grew bigger and brighter, his shop finally coming into focus. I’m awake.

He saw Belle again, standing just in front of him. She had turned away. Hair tumbled down her back, bouncing lightly against her winter sweater, she was giggling. Ruplestiltskin tried to reach out for her, but he couldn’t make his fingers obey.

She turned, her cheeks red, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her face moved toward something…no, not something. Someone. Leaning toward Will she kissed him on the cheek, her hand coming up and brushing the shoulder of the thief’s jacket.

Rumplestiltskin tried to speak, to stop her, but he couldn’t. Realization rushed over him. If he could just turn his head he’d see himself standing across the street, watching with a broken heart. He wasn’t awake at all, it had only been another memory.

A flash of light sent him to the town line. Tears glistened on Belle’s cheeks. The dagger filling the space between them. The pain and guilt felt as real as it had the day it happened.

Another flash and he was back in the Enchanted Forest, Bae held the magic bean up to his chest before dropping it on the ground. Rumplestiltskin watched as the portal sucked away his son. He tried to go after him, but invisible chains held him in place. He was forced to watch his son be abandoned all over again.

“No! Please no!” Rumplestiltskin screamed, but the words just wouldn’t leave his lips.

Every moment of his failures played on loop around him. The cries of Bae reaching into his bones, screams caught in his throat as they crushed into his heart. The disappointment on Belle’s face tore his soul away piece by piece. Yes, death would be much better than this. If I could just let go…

 

Far away from his mind, Belle sat next to him in the pawnshop. Unaware of the torment raging inside of him she held tightly to his hand, fearing that it may be the last time she touched him.

Pulling herself away was a task, even after the Blue Fairy gave her the magical rose. In his ear she whispered her plan, to go to Camelot, to help the group with Emma and try to find a way to save him.

The clock ticked away, she had to be on her way soon. She stood and scurried around the shop, shoving book after book into her bag. She took a last look at the teacup that had always brought her Rumple hope. Maybe now it could help her.

“I never thought I’d be alone on my adventures.” She said, remembering the talks they had had so long ago in the Enchanted Forest.

Coming back to the little cot, she sat down to tell him goodbye. For the longest all she could do was hold his hand, and fight back tears and she started at his face. He looked peaceful. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could pretend it was just a nap.

Up front the door swung open with a ring, Belle craned her neck to see who had come, finding Henry walking cautiously towards her.

“It’s okay. Come in.” Belle Called

“Is Grandpa doing okay?” Henry asked.

“Well, he’s not any worse.”, she smiled, “Don’t worry, Henry, we’ll figure out a way to get him back. Right now why don’t we focus on saving your mom.” 

Henry nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder, “We’re ready at Granny’s.”

She covered his hand with hers, “I’ll be right behind you.”

He nodded again and ran out of the shop.

Belle leaned down and kissed Rumplestiltskin’s cheek, “I love you, Rumple.” She brushed a stray hair from his face, and stood.

“Goodbye, Rumple.” She sobbed as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, ran out the door and straight to Granny’s.

 

“Belle! Please Belle, I’m here!” Rumplestiltskin shouted, his words echoing off the walls of his mind. He couldn’t see or feel her, but he knew with absolute certainty that it was his Belle’s voice he had heard.

“Belle, I can hear you!” He cried.

As he focused on the sound of her, the sounds of the screams in his mind quietened. He strained, wanting to hear her speak again. Footsteps, light and quick, got farther and farther away as he listened.

One more time he tried to make his voice work, “Please don’t leave me, I can hear you. I’m here, Belle!” But it was too late, she was gone and his voice just wouldn’t work.

As the bell above his shop gave a gentle jingle the sounds of his memories roared back to life. Without Belle he returned to the hell of his own making.

The sounds of his awful memories mixed with the sound of Belle’s voice. His heart stretched in two different directions. Painful memories spiraling him deeper into the coma, and the sweet as honeysuckle sound of Belle’s voice pulling him closer to the surface. He wanted her to come back, for her voice to soothe him until he was healed.

“Stop!” He yelled at the memories playing around him. He saw himself, threatening the life of another innocent victim.

“Stop” He yelled again at the mirror image, but it wouldn’t listen.

“You’re a monster. Belle stood beside you, begging you to be a better man, but you’re nothing but a coward. I’m nothing but a damned coward.” He cried.

He felt all the pain he’d caused for his loved ones. The horrid things the curse had made him do. If only he could go back and change it all, he would. Hurting Belle was never worth the power it gave him.

But yet she hadn’t left him yet. Maybe some part of him was worth saving. Maybe this could be a second chance. At being with her, at being a hero. Around him the lights of his memories slowly faded at the edges, the screams of pain quieted. Soon the only thing he heard was his own sharp inhale of breath. Belle had saved him. Her voice had reminded him that there was always hope for a better future.

He didn’t know how he would escape from the coma. But he had to. For Belle. And this time he’d be the man she deserved. 

Six weeks later. 

Six weeks of total darkness had taken its toll on Rumplestiltskin. He dipped in and out of awareness, sometimes not wanting to come back. The isolation from everything and everyone was almost too much for him. Being gone was easier, less painful.

The worst came when the rare sounds of the world outside stopped, leaving him with only his thoughts. The Dark One curse may have been gone, but his mind was still a terrible place.

The guilt rose higher and higher. He was unable to stop the memories of how awful he had been to everyone he loved in his life. He was drowning from the inside, out.  
Belle became his life jacket, her voice keeping him just above water. He fought for her, the second chance she made him realize he had. If she hadn’t given up on him, he couldn’t either.

 

Belle had returned from Camelot and made herself comfortable in the shop once more. Slumped over the counter she read through countless spells and notes Rumplestiltskin had handwritten years ago.

At a grumble from her stomach, she check her watched and decided she wouldn’t be of any help if she didn’t go and get some kind of nourishment. Glancing over her shoulder one more time at his still form, she grabbed her rose and headed out the door, locking it behind her.

Across the street, in the car she had stolen from the Dwarves, Emma watched carefully as Belle scurried down the sidewalk. The current Dark One glanced up, the reflection of her mother looking back at her. A smile played on her lips, satisfied with the glamour spell.

Waiting until Belle was out of sight, she swung the car door open, walked across the street and into the shop without anyone so much as taking a second look. She headed straight for the back, finding Rumplestiltskin lying on his tiny cot.

She stared down at his lifeless body, “Road trip, part two.” She quipped. 

Then with a flick of her wrist they appeared in her basement. With another wave of her hand magic surged through Rumplestiltskin, pumping his heart with life. Vaguely he understood he was waking, but it wasn’t as pleasant as he had hoped.

Light hit him from every side, brighter than a thousand suns. The silence that had become his home was ripped away, replaced with ringing and thunderous booms all at once. Inside he screamed, then as quick as it had begun, it stopped. He was awake, but Belle was nowhere to be found.

Confusion briefly swept over him. Why wasn’t she there? For weeks he’d played this moment over in his head and never for a moment did he consider finding anyone else by his side when his eyes opened again.

Instead, Emma stood over him dressed head to toe in black. Her face hard, and the skin around her lips pursed. One look into her eyes was enough to know she wasn’t the only one looking back at him. Bile rose in his throat. He shuddered at the memory of dozens of Dark Ones using him as a window to the world what would have been just mere weeks ago.

He knew instantly that she’d woken him for a reason. He wanted to search the room, to make sure Belle was safe from her, but he couldn’t look away from the dozens of eyes boring into him. What use could he be to the Dark One now that he was powerless?

“What do you want from me?” He gasped, “You’re the Dark One now.” 

He tried his hardest to listen to what Emma was saying, truly he did, but the fear in his head was too loud and wouldn’t allow anything else to stick. He mumbled his responses, not bothering to hide his fear. He knew the Dark One would smell it.

For centuries he’d been that very monster, powerful and chaotic. He’d spent his coma reliving everything that power had made him do, made him into, and the pain of regret was almost too strong to handle.

And now, after believing it had been destroyed, the darkness sat in front of him, holding him by his collar. She drug him forward, tying him to prison bars. He was the same coward that had accepted the darkness into his heart so long ago, but this time maybe he had an advantage. He knew every dirty trick the Dark One had.  
She didn’t need to tie him up, it was all dramatics . She could easily keep him frozen in place with her magic. Fear. She wanted to scar him.

Emma didn’t want to hurt him, not yet. Somehow she had found a use for him. In order to survive he needed to be whatever Emma needed. But how could he be, he was just a coward. A weak old man without a drop of power.

He focused on Belle, oh how he needed to see her face. He’d survive this for her. She never gave up, he told himself one more time. And then he’d take her away somewhere they could finally be free from the grips of Dark One once and for all.


End file.
